1895 - The Game of
Rugby League was born on 29th August,1895 at an historic meeting at the George Hotel
Huddersfield when England's new Northern Union was formed. Traditional rugby rules were
adhered to for the first two seasons with the line-outs and eight-man scrummages.

1897 - The
Line-out was replaced by a punt kick from touch. All goals were reduced to two points.

1906 - Teams were
reduced from 15 to 13 a side and the play the ball was introduced. The scoring system of 2
points for any type of goal and 3 points for a try was adopted for the season 1906-07.
During that season the line-out, as played in Union, was also abolished and the ball was
brought into play from the sideline by a kick in any direction by a player from the
non-offending team.

1907 - Rugby
League came into being in Australia in 1907.

1908 - MAJOR AMENDMENTS TO THE LAWS OF RUGBY LEAGUE• No limit on number of tackles a team can retain possession.
• Scrum formations not regulated (no loose-head rule, numbers in each row
not specified, ball permitted to come out from anywhere behind front row).
Front rows bind against each other before subsequent rows pack behind.
• Play-the-ball: provided they are onside (no minimum distance specified)
all players in vicinity permitted to kick or rake for the ball in any
direction.
• Attacking team (the team in the opposition’s half of the field) to put
ball into the scrum.
• Scrum feed method unrestricted (spinning and bouncing the ball not
illegal).
• Penalty options: drop, place or punt kicks only.
• ‘Fair catch’ rule: catching the ball on the full from an opponent’s kick,
knock-on or forward pass earns a ‘free kick’ (can drop or place-kick for
goal; ‘tap’ impractical).
• All goals valued at two points. Penalty goals and ‘free kicks’ permitted
to be either placed or drop-kicked for goal. All conversions to be
place-kicked. ‘Soccer-style’ field goals (kicking a loose or bouncing ball
from the ground over the cross-bar on the full) permitted.
• Kicking to touch from penalty results in a scrum (feed given to attacking
team).
• Defenders permitted to stand on the ‘mark’ at a penalty or ‘fair catch’.
The subsequent kick must go beyond the ‘mark’ for play to continue (‘tap’
impractical).
• Restart of play after unconverted try: drop-kick from inside halfway (ball
must cross halfway).
• Kickoff or drop-out crosses touchline on the full: recalled for a scrum
(opposing team to feed).
• Restart of play after defending team makes ball dead after carrying,
kicking or passing ball into own in-goal: five-yard scrum, with attacking
team to feed.
• Restart of play after defender makes ball dead in own in-goal (where
opponent kicked or carried ball across the goal-line): 25-yard line
drop-out.
• All other significant rules are essentially as per today’s playing laws.Note on Replacements: A local rule operated in NSW between 1908 and 1925
whereby a replacement player was allowed for an injured player. From 1925 to
1963, no replacements were allowed.

1909 - Maximum of three forwards in front row of the scrum;
other rows remain unrestricted.

1925 - A second football provided at the touch-line to
eliminate delays during all first-class matches.

1926 - Goal-line drop-out (instead of from the 25-yard
line) after defender makes ball dead; play-the-ball modernised - only marker
and man playing the ball to be involved in contest for the ball, and marker
to keep both feet on ground until ball is dropped or placed.

1930 - Defending halfback to feed scrums, with attacking
side having the loose-head; ‘3-2-1’ scrum formation made mandatory.

1932 - Hooker must have both arms over props (loose-arm
rule); penalty extended to include optional scrum (instead of ‘free kick’).

1948 - Front rows cannot pack against each other until
ordered by referee.

1951 - Five-yard ruck rule introduced (for one season
only); previously there had been a ‘no-yard’ ruck rule.

1952 - No-yard ruck rule reinstated; dummy-half and
second-marker to stand one yard behind the two men at the play-the-ball.

1956 - Three-yard ruck rule, with no minimum distance for
dummy-half and second-marker.

1959 - Abolition of tap penalty.

1961 - Dummy-half caught with ball resulted in a scrum.

1963 - Reinstatement of unrestricted dummy-half runs; ball
from scrum to come out from behind the second-rowers; non-offending team
given feed and loose-head for scrum from penalties (including after kick to
touch); teams can replace a maximum of two injured players up to and
including halftime.

1964 - Scrums minimum of 10 yards from goal-line; place
kickoff from halfway line to restart play after unconverted try; penalty at
halfway if kickoff out on the full.

1983 - Value of try increased to four points; handover
after sixth tackle if caught in possession; drop
out for kickoffs going dead (instead of a 22m tap).

1986 - Twenty-metre restart when ball caught on full in
in-goal.

1987 - ‘Head-bin’ introduced (players suffering minor head
injuries allowed to return to the field of play after 10 minutes without
affecting team’s quota of replacements).

1988 - Two fresh reserves allowed.

1990 - In-goal touch judges used in finals series.

1991 - Interchange rule introduced, allowing four players
(two of whom could be fresh reserves and two of whom must have played half a
game in the preceding Reserve Grade or President’s Cup) unlimited
interchanges throughout a match. This rule was brought in primarily to cut
down the risk of the spread of blood-borne diseases. By April an angry
public reaction forced a modification which provided for a maximum of four
players to be available for a total of six interchanges in a match. Players
sent to the ‘blood-bin’ did not count among these six interchanges.

2008 Rule Changes -
Reducing the number of interchanges from
12 to 10 a match; Ball stripping permitted if the ball carrier is in the act
of trying to ground the ball for a try; Scrapping the grapple/wrestle tackle
from the game.